New Orleans City Council hears many pleas for more money during budget hearings

If they want to keep their jobs, mayoral appointees generally find it wise not to raise public objections even if their departments' budgets are cut when the administration reveals its overall budget for the coming year. Officials of independent or semiautonomous agencies that receive city money, such as elected judges and heads of nonprofit organizations, are not necessarily so...

If they want to keep their jobs, mayoral appointees generally find it wise not to raise public objections even if their departments' budgets are cut when the administration reveals its overall budget for the coming year. Officials of independent or semiautonomous agencies that receive city money, such as elected judges and heads of nonprofit organizations, are not necessarily so circumspect.

As the New Orleans City Council held its first three days of hearings on Mayor Mitch Landrieu's proposed 2013 operating budget this past week, then, it heard from a long list of recipients unhappy about the size of their proposed allotments for next year. Few of those complaining were in charge of actual city departments, however.

The Parks and Parkways Department, for example, is facing a 5.7 percent budget cut in 2013, or about $400,000, but in her prepared testimony Director Ann Macdonald referred to it only as "a small variance from last year."

The Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board is facing a 10 percent cut, but its bubbly director, Claudia Riegel, repeatedly told the council she is "very excited" about its prospects, even though she admitted the cuts are "major" and "things may get ugly."

Landrieu's proposed 2013 general-fund operating budget of $491.4 million calls for sizable cuts to many agencies as the city struggles to meet rising costs for unavoidable expenses such as pensions and health care, and to find $7 million to begin implementing a federal consent decree calling for reforms to the Police Department.

The result was unhappiness among many groups and agencies that receive city money, from the Louisiana SPCA and the 4-H Clubs to the public defender's office and the judges of Juveniile Court.

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And even when those appearing before the council did not actually ask for more money, council members often were ready to do the job for them. Indeed, it was the rare agency that did not find one or more council members suggesting that agency deserves more money.

The problem, of course, is that every dollar the city expects to take in during 2013 is already accounted for in Landrieu's budget, meaning that giving more money to one worthy recipient usually means taking it away from others considered just as worthy or needy, unless the council can come up with ways to increase overall revenue.

Councilwoman Susan Guidry told the LSU AgCenter, which the administration has proposed to give no money at all in 2013 for its Orleans Parish office, that she will scour the budget to try to find it $100,000. But she made no promises.

Juvenile Court is facing a 30 percent cut, from $3.7 million to $2.6 million, at a time when juvenile crime remains one of the city's highest-profile problems. The administration argues that the court is overstaffed, with far more judges than it needs. But cutting its budget won't reduce the number of judges, which is mandated by the state, only force the court to get by with less money. Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier said the cuts will mean layoffs, delays in handling cases and reductions in the services the court can offer to troubled young people.

The public defenders office, whose fiscal woes are a source of controversy almost every year, is due to lose $400,000 of the $1.2 million it was budgeted to receive this year from the city. Chief Defender Derwyn Bunton said he will have to lay off lawyers and provide less service to indigent defendants as a result.

An agency that was not even asking for any money, the French Market Corp., was instead admonished to find ways to increase the contribution it plans to make to the hard-pressed general fund.

Besides considering each agency's request for money, council members often use the annual budget hearings to comment, favorably or unfavorably, on departments' past and current performance.

In hearing from the Safety and Permits Department, which is due to lose $300,000 in 2013, members were -- not for the first time -- critical of various aspects of its record.

Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell said her office gets frequent complaints about work done on weekends without proper permits, such as pouring foundations, building fences or installing driveways. She said Safety and Permits then usually does nothing about it, refusing to try to force owners or contractors to undo the illegal work. She suggested that some inspectors are overly friendly with contractors.

Council President Stacy Head followed up, saying she wanted to know what number people could call on weekends with such complaints. None of the administration officials at the table had an answer. Councilwoman Susan Guidry added that her office often forwards constituents' complaints to Safety and Permits, but that nothing seems to happen and those making the complaints never hear back from the department.

The three days of hearings held so far ran a total of 18 1/2 hours, with four more days of presentations scheduled for the coming week. Although the discussion, as usual, has sometimes wandered far afield or gotten bogged down in minutiae, the council has made a greater effort than in recent years to keep the proceedings moving.

Budget Committee Chairwoman Jackie Clarkson even has tried to impose time limits on council members' questions for each department, though there seem to be no consequences if the questioning goes past the announced five-minute limit.

The hearings are scheduled to wrap up Friday, though they can be extended if things get behind schedule. The council then is due to vote on the 2013 budget Nov. 30.